Hylltywyll wandered silently through the streets of the city, their lavish black bathrobe dragging behind them as they slunk through the shadows beneath the awnings of various storefronts. They couldn't believe this! They'd been left behind here, in a strange city, on some island, in a different region than their home! Given, Bellighul hadn't actually known the fairy had tagged along and also didn't actually want the horrid little squatter in their fancy villa, but still! How could he be left behind like this?

At least he still had the luxurious bathrobe he stole from Bellighul's private bath. The robe looked far less luxurious than it used to. It was covered in shed dark purple fur from the creature, and the pockets were filled with greasy sausages and smeared with crumbs and cheese. Hylltywyll pulled a mini quiche that he had stolen from the party he hadn't been invited to from one of the pockets and shoved it in his fang-filled mouth hungrily. This city was a lot harder to steal food from than a farming village. At least he still had some leftover rations from his time at the Ball.

The little Fairy continued their creeping around until they smelled something. It smelled good. Was that food? He looked around and followed where the smell was coming from to a huge building with wide open doors. He smiled, showing off his jagged teeth. This would be easy. They don't even close their doors! Hylltywyll though to himself as he crept inside. The room was huge and full of lines of really wide chairs with a golden rug running down between them to an altar. He followed his nose to the source of the tasty smell and found some little metal bowl fill of burning chips of wood and leaves. This didn't look like food. The heck was this bullshit!?

He slapped the bowl, scattering the wood chips and leaves across the floor, and scurried under one of the benches. This place sucked! Maybe he could at least have some fun here before he left. A little payback for tricking him. Though they hadn't actually been trying to trick him at all, but still!

---

One With the Shadows
Pass Without a Trace

Walking through the streets of Sol City with a basket of fresh bread, enjoying the sights and wonders of the capital Cirice was giddy with joy. It had cost her quite a bit to journey here, draining her dwindling funds to almost nothing. It was a danger to be broke in a city like this, especially when she had the tendency to spend all her money and then be left looking for jobs for more, but the City had so far been worth it. She'd seen such wonderful things since coming here, and some not so wonderful things as well. The disparity between the poor and wealthy bothers her, signifying how very little she knew about cities. She's a country girl at heart. Finding her talents for healing useful for helping those less fortunate she'd been working around some of the slummier parts of the lower city spreading the name of Mother Moon when someone told her about the great Temple of the Sun. She hoped one day to open a temple of her very own and hadn't had much opportunity to look into a proper temple so she figured now was as good a time as any. 

Walking through the nicer part of town with the basket tucked neatly on her arm she didn't look too out of place she hoped. On her travels she was often thought to be overdressed and for once that served her well as not a single person batted an eye at her as she made her way to the imposing golden edifice of the Temple. She had to crane her neck uncomfortably to squint up at the golden sun crowning the top of the tower. It struck her as unnecessarily opulent. Even from outside she could smell rich incense floating out from the censers within, enough that it must cost a fortune to keep the place smelling that way alone. Considering the quality of life of the populace directly outside the Temple's walls and the stark contrast of those living in the lower city it irked her to think such a large expense was being spent on grandeur instead of alms to aid the suffering.


Heading forward to the great, wide open doors she peeks inside hesitantly, feeling a bit underdressed. The interior was filled with intricately carved wooden pews neatly places in even rows on either side of a long, shimmery golden carpet. An altar the size of a merchant's cart perched above the pews on a raised dais, candles and effigies wrought in yet more gold inlaid with jewels glittering just out of reach. Her breath catches in her throat at the beauty of the room. Entranced, she forgets her hesitance and steps inside, finding more art and beauty on the walls depicting the gods themselves and their deeds. Its all very beautiful, gilded, and glorified, and its hard for her to look away. 

Then suddenly a clattering off to her left startles her out of her thoughts. A censer's bowl made of copper rolls across the floor with a terrible clang flinging still-burning incense and ash all over the marble floor. The pedestal on with it had stood wobbles in place but doesn't fall but she can't see what would have disturbed it. She looks around quickly and sees no other visitors in the large open nave and no priests either. What could have caused the commotion?

Curious she gets a closer look, bending down and setting her basket aside to try to sweep the burning mess back into the bowl as best she can without burning herself.

From their hiding spot beneath the pew, Hylltywyll saw someone start cleaning up their mess, gathering up the incense and putting it back into the censer. They silently made fun of the girl, sticking their tongue out and blowing a razzberry at them, the sound contained and silenced by their shadowy magics. But, then they spotted something and stopped. She had a basket full of bread hanging from her arm.

Hylltywyll smiled mischievously and crept out from his hiding place while she was still preoccupied with the bits of burning wood chips he'd knocked over. Behind her, he quietly walked up and pulled the bread from the basket, shoving one loaf into his mouth and biting down to hold it between his teeth while he held the rest in his arms. With his nicked pumpernickel, burgled brioche, and pilfered pita, he made his way back to the shadows beneath the pews, his triumphant giggle muffled by his mouthful of gluteny goods.

Just from the piece he was holding in his mouth, this bread tasted good. It must have been from a good bakery. Maybe he should consider visiting it once he was done here. But his trip into this place had been far more gainful than he'd expected! Thanks for the bread, oblivious lady! He thought to himself.

Cirice stands up with a sigh, unsure of why she was cleaning up when it wasn’t even her own temple. When she has a temple some day she’ll take better care of it and not decorate with so much gaudy gold. Well nonetheless its rude to visit and not make some sort of offering or something, or so she’s heard. She hopes the priests like the bread she’s brought. She looks at the basket and frowns. Some of her bread is missing… She looks around in confusion, seeing no one around that could have taken it. But she was sure she’d had an entire basket full when she entered.



“Hmm… That’s weird… I had more bread. Is anyone there? If you’re hungry you could have just asked, I’d have given you some. No need to steal. Stealing is wrong, unless its for good reasons. But you should really ask first before you resort to desperate measures.¹” Magic seeps into her words, admonishing the thief and trying to reform their behavior. “If you want more we can share.” She finds a pew off to the side away from the door and the altar and sits, setting the basket in her lap and waiting to see if anyone shows up.

---

1 Smooth Talking

Hylltywyll sat beneath the pew, munching away on the stolen bread and listening as the lady discovered the theft and started preaching. He believed everything she said. She would have shared with him if he'd asked. He didn't need to steal it. Stealing was wrong. He looked at the bread in his hand for a moment, and then smiled and laughed. Yeah, she would have shared, but he enjoyed stealing it! It was fun, even if she said it was wrong. The little miscreant had never been concerned with if what they were doing was wrong in the first place!

Then, two legs stepped in front of his hiding place and the wood above him creaked. Oh, she must have sat down. And now she's offering to share some more of her bread. Wow, she seems so innocent. He almost felt bad stealing from her. Almost, but not quite. And now he just wanted to mess with her even more. He crept out from behind the pew and peeked up to see exactly where she was sitting. He wanted to make sure this was lined up properly.

Once he had his bearings, hi tapped his finger against the bottom of the bench. In an instant, there was a hole in the bench directly beneath her bottom, large enough for her to fall through

---

Create Door

A hole opens itself up under her butt and Cirice falls directly through the pew, folding awkwardly in on herself as her knees are forced up to her chin and she gets stuck.



“ACK!” She struggles, wiggling in the hole and making it much worse, trying her best to unstick herself but just succeeding in making the entire pew shake violently. “Could someone- Ack- help??” But no one is around to help her. She tries rocking back and forth to try and hoist herself out and the whole pew teeters forward and crashes backwards with a bang, knocking her head on the floor with a sharp crack. But she’s freed!



Disoriented, she looks around for who or what might have caused that, her basket fallen off to the side and bread strewn about the floor. She’s flustered and her head hurts and someone is messing with her!

Hylltywyll rolled around on the floor behind the pew, laughing at the girl with her butt stuck in the hole he had conjured. Fortunately, his shadowy magic concealed the sound of his cackling or he would have been heard by just about everyone in the building. Unfortunately, thanks to his manic laughter, he didn't notice the pew violently shaking and then falling directly on top of him until it was too late. He let out a silenced scream as it squashed him against the rug.

He was smushed beneath the tall back of the pew, squirming to try and free himself. The wooden pew was far too heavy for the tiny fairy to lift. He lied there, his back against the ground and his whole body aching from being flattened. He could hardly breathe from the weight on his chest. There was only one thing left that he could do in his predicament. He dropped the magic keeping him silent and nearly invisible and hesitantly called out from beneath the fallen pew.

"H- help?"

“H-help?” Came the small voice from under the pew as Cirice stands up and dusts herself off. Oh no! She’s hurt someone in her struggling! She hurries around to the other side of the fallen pew and sees the small fuzzy form struggling against the proportionally massive hunk of wood atop it. That has to hurt, poor little guy.



“Oh no I’m so sorry! Here, be still and let me help you!” She lifts the pew up with difficulty, wobbly setting it to rights and scoops up the little purple gremlin in her arms carefully, like a baby. Checking him over to make sure he’s not got any broken bones and finding him to be quite interesting and adorable, the runes on her arms flare to soft silvery light and she fills him with gentle healing magic¹.



“Are you okay, little guy?” Her voice is soft and worried, full of remorse and completely lacking the frustration of before. “I didn’t mean to squish you. I was just struggling and then the pew fell… I didn’t know you were there. You’re so cute and soft…. I’m Cirice. Who or what are you? Were you the one playing tricks on me?”

---

1 Massive Healing just in case his little bones broke

This had been the worst the Fairy had been hurt in a long time, and it was embarrassing that it was done by some girl flattening him with a bench, and by accident no less. Hylltywyll let out a little pained groan as he was lifted up. He can't put up much of a fight in his current state, though, so he just accepts it as she holds him like a baby in her arms.

A gentle, soothing feeling pulsed over his body and all of the pain disappeared. He let out a little sigh of relief, his body no longer aching all over. He didn't know she had healing magic, but it was nice that she had used it on him. Though it was her fault he had been hurt. He conveniently forgot the fact he had been the one to cause her struggles that knocked the pew over in the first place.

Hylltywyll just laid in her arms and listened as she introduced herself as Cirice. In answer to her question of whether he was the one playing tricks on her, he smiled mischievously and looked at the hole in the pew and lazily waved his hand. The hole resealed itself, the pew appearing as if there had never been a hole in it at all. He chuckled to himself a little as he looked back at her.

"Heh. Yeah, it was me." Hylltywyll said smugly, crossing their arms in front of them and ignoring that they were currently being held like an infant. "Why should I tell you who I am? Hmm."

Hylltywyll pulled one of the stolen buns from his robe pocket and took a bite before continuing to speak with his mouth full.

"I dunt like bing skished." He said, and then mumbled something else under the guise of it being unintelligible thanks to the mouthful of bread, casting a spell on Cirice.

---

Detect Lies

“Well because I want to be your friend!” Cirice giggles, completely truthful, “I’ve never seen anyone or anything like you before and I’m really curious about you. I am really sorry for squishing you. I really didn’t mean to. I wouldn’t have if you hadn’t gotten me stuck, silly bean. You’re a little troublemaker, aren't you?” She hugs him gently to her chest.



“If you like the bread you can have the rest I brought, it got a bit scattered around so it might not be the best anymore… We can go get more if you want, if you’ll tell me more about you. You’re small and fuzzy and you have such cute little toes!” She can’t help nuzzling her cheek into his fur like a beloved pet. Cirice has a deep weakness for cute things. “Your robe seems too big for you new friend, you should get something your size! OH OH lets go shopping and I could get you a tiny bowtie!”

The idea of going out and dressing up this tiny strange new friend excites her and she bounces with ideas. He's purple, her favorite color and his little eyes are like little shiny black beads, she can think of so many things that would compliment him better than the tattered too-large robe. Maybe a cute silver pendant instead of a bowtie, or a nice tiny fitted jacket with tails that hang to either side of his tail. Her solars are running low but she wants to make up for hurting the guy, and getting to dress him up is her selfish little joy. 

"Oh I could even get a little brush and brush out your fur for you! Wouldn't that be nice?"

Hylltywyll squirmed and struggled as he was hugged and nuzzled by Cirice, letting out little grunts and squawks of protest as his legs flailed in the air. He didn't know how to feel about this treatment. On one hand, it was a bit humiliating to be treated like some fluffy little pet, but on the other it was kind of nice to be pampered. He'd never had anyone brush his fur for him before. And he knew from his magic that she was being honest about it all and not trying to trick him.

"Okay! Just stop squishing me!" he finally gave in, tapping out on her arm with his little hand.

"Its a promise then!" She squeals with delight, loosening her grip but not letting him go. "So what do you want first? More food? Cute outfits or to tell me your name?" She looks at him with big, expectant eyes, afraid that if she lets him out of her sight he'll scamper.

"Hm. Hylltywyll." he answered hesitantly. He knew from his magic again that she wasn't lying, but he was still hesitant to spread his name around. Names are important to Fairies.

"I already have food. See?" he said as he pulled a several-days-old mini quiche from his robe pocket that smelled a little off. He had eaten them just fine, but that may have been due to the little scavenger having some resistance to rotting food. That, or they simply had an iron stomach that could handle the garbage they often shoveled into it. They still preferred fresh food even if they could eat some pretty nasty stuff without negative repercussions. They had no problems eating the bread that had been scattered across the floor.

"Hylltywyll..." Cirice says, mulling over the name like one would a fine wine. "Thats a very interesting name, unlike any I've ever heard! Can I call you Hylly?"

He shows her the gross moldy food and she blinks, "Thats all moldy and gross... Were you living off moldy food before and thats why you stole my bread?!" She gasps and looks at him with concern. "Oh no that just won't do! Don't worry, I'll make sure you have plenty to eat! No wonder you were so grumpy, I get testy when I'm hungry too."

She looks at the bread on the floor and decides that is someone else's problem now, she's going to go get some fresh food for Hylltywyll. "What do you like to eat? Sweets? Meat? Fruit? Bread? We'll go get some for you right now!" She marches towards the door with him in her arms cuddled protectively. She will care for this small strange creature now.

He chose to ignore the question. He also didn't think she'd need an answer before she'd call him such a nickname and doubted a refusal would change anything.

Hylltywyll just looked over Cirice's shoulder in dismay at the tasty, perfectly edible bread being left behind on the ground. He reached a little hand out, grabbing at the air futilely as he was carried away. Why was this bread bad now just because it fell on the floor? And his pocket snacks weren't gross! What was she talking about?

He'd lost control of this situation entirely, being swept along in this crazy lady's embrace. What did he get himself into this time? His mood and his ears perk up a bit when she offers choices of what kind of food he might want, though. He already had perfectly good cocktail sausages in his pockets despite what Cirice said, so he didn't need meat. He'd just eaten some bread. And between the choice of fruit or sweets...

"Sweets!"